The return of a Shadow

Jonathan | July 9, 2006

They swarmed over the barren plain like a river of black, the booming of drums echoed through the still air, the sound of their tramping feet got louder as they got closer. Archers lined the ramparts of the outer wall arrows strung in their bows, they waited as they got closer, they were now in full view rank upon rank of orcs. They snarled and yelled war-cries in their own harsh tongue &quot;Wait until they get within range&quot; said a tall man with brown hair, he wore his armour glistened in the early morning sunlight, the emblem of the white tree of Gondor adorned the centre of his breast plates, he also wore a long flowing green cape. He held his helmet in his left hand and ran his hand through his hair with his right, he gazed out into the tide of orcs now within bow-shot. &quot;Now&quot; he shouted, the archers loosed a volley of arrows which rained down on the orcs below, the first two lines fell only to be trampled by other orcs charging forward. The orcs were now at the foot of the outer wall, their ranks split to reveal a huge battering ram being drawn forward by four mountain-trolls, they lumbered towards the large oaken gate. The archers on the walls loosed volley after volley into the ranks of orcs, BOOM BOOM the cave trolls had begun to ram the gate with the battering ram &quot;Brace the gate&quot; the captain shouted. Men ran to brace the gate BOOM BOOM the battering ram struck the gates once more the gate had begun to splinter &quot;Get the women and children to caves&quot; yelled the Captain as the gates shook with the impact of the battering ram, the women and children were ushered into the caves and told not to venture outside for whatever reason. The gate splintered and collapsed and the four emense Mountain-trolls lumbered in bringing a tide of orcs with them, they overpowered the Men defending the gate and swarmed into the outer courts. The mountain-trolls batted men aside as if they were rag-dolls, &quot;Charge&quot; yelled the captain a regiment of Gondorian swordsmen charged forward slaying many an orc. The archers on the inner wall loosed shafts into the fray, careful only to aim for the Mountain-trolls which stood higher than the rest. One of the immense mountain-trolls fell crushing many orcs beneath it, it was literally covered in arrows. The remaining three mountain-trolls now enraged slew anything in their path regardless of wether they were men or orcs. A mountain swung it's club and sent several men flying, it swung it carelessly about and hit another mountain-troll who stood taller than the rest. The larger mountain-troll roared angrily and turning to the other troll hit it heavily over the head with its own club, the smaller mountain-troll rubbed its head with one gigantic hand. Eeriee howls were heard and a pack of Wargs came bounding down the hill with orcs brandishing crude swords on their backs, at this the defenders morale sunk and they became fearful and afraid. Their was a cry of sorrow when a mountain troll tore apart the Gondorian flag which flew above the gate, suddenly more swordsmen charged out of the barracks and attacked the orcs. The Gondorian defenders were gradually being worn down and saw no way to achieve victory, a swordsmen ran up the steps of the watch-tower and taking a deep breath blew the Horn of Gondor. The horn blast eoched across the open plains and reverberated off the hills. The captian slew and orc and rallied the defenders to him and attacked again, hearing the hornblast the Gondorian Swordsmen cheered and attacked with renewed vigor, but no matter how hard they fought they were hopelessly outnumbered and their numbers were falling at an alarming rate if help didn't arrive soon they would be forced to retreat. Orcs piled into to outpost in ever increasing numbers and the Gndorian defenders morale sunk even lower as they struggled to turn back the semmingly endless tide of orcs, suddenly there was a horn blast and the defenders turned to see Swordsmen and Knights approaching the outpost form the right, a huge cheer went up from the defenders when they saw the sight. Suddenly there was a loud screech and an eagle dove down out of the sky and grabbed several Orcs lifting them high into the air and then dropping them to their doom, seeing the eagle and the arriving soldiers the Orcs began to panic and the Mountain Trolls turned on the hapless Orcs in their blind rage. The Mountain Trolls became wild and slaughtered any Orc that was unfortunate enough to get in their way as they fled from the outpost, the defenders cheered as the Orcs retreated.<br />&nbsp;<br />Ellanwe stood on a hill overlooking the outpost, he had watched the battle with interest from his vantage point after deciding the it wasn't his place to interfere with the affairs of mortals. He ran a hand through his long golden-blond hair that was braided in the fashion of his people. He had only just left Lothlorien several days ago and was already missing his wooded home, the forest hadn't been the same since Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn had left and sailed away into the west. He also ran a hand over his blade that had been forged for him by Lord Celeborn himself, Ellanwe was still young in the reconing of his people and one day had felt a desire to see the lands of Middle-Earth. He had heard dark rumours of a new Balrog in Moria and orcs multipling in Mordor, these tidings troubled him and he had sought the counsel of Radgast the Brown. The wizard was a lesser known wizard who had yet to reach the higher levels of the Istari order, nevertheless he found in Radagast a wise and loyal friend. Also when he had met Radagast one day there were three other wizards with him there names had been Brimir the Grey, Talas the White and Kajun the Brown, Ellanwe had greeted the wizards and welcomed them into Lothlorien. He had talked long into the night with the wizards and discussed many things with them, it had been Radagast's idea for him to journey to Minas Tirith and warn King Eldarion of the dark times ahead. Being the son of Lord Cirwe and scion of the royal family of Lothlorien it was his responsibility to carry any messages of importance, he stood looking out at the horizon with his comapanions Luthian and Isiliar at his side. Thanks to his sharp elven vision Ellanwe was able to see a horde of orcs approaching them and he warned his companions who hadn't spotted the foul creatures yet, he notched an arrow to his bow and let fly. The finely crafted Lorien arrow sped through the air and embedded itself in its target, the orcs seeing one of their own lying dead on the ground charged at the three elves thinking them easy prey. Ellanwe drew his sword and stood waiting for the orcs to reach them, when they did he attacked in the fashion of his people. The slashed one orc and empaled another, Luthian and Isiliar were at his side in moments having drew their own swords and joined the fighting. The battle didn't last long, Ellanwe and his fellow elves skill with the sword and their superior blades were more than a match for the crude weapons of the orcs.

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